A nightmare afternoon for Burnley left them five points adrift of Premier League safety as a 4-1 hammering by Newcastle coupled with Nottingham Forest’s win edged them towards relegation.
The Clarets began Saturday with an outside hope of ending the day outside the relegation zone, but now must win both their remaining games and hope results elsewhere go their way to avoid the drop, following Forest’s 3-1 victory at already-relegated Sheffield United.
Burnley even began brightly at Turf Moor, with Lorenz Assignon a particular danger. But once Callum Wilson had fired in the rebound from Alexander Isak’s shot, it became a familiar tale as the hosts collapsed, and quick-fire goals from Sean Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes put Newcastle out of sight before half-time.
The Magpies could even afford to see Isak miss a penalty shortly after the break though the striker soon made amends from close range to cement sixth spot, at least until Manchester United travel to Crystal Palace live on Sky Sports on Monday night.
Despite Dara O’Shea’s late consolation from a corner, another chastening defeat for Burnley means anything but maximum points against Tottenham and Nottingham Forest will ensure their relegation.
Even a point for Forest against Chelsea next week, live on Sky Sports, would likely be enough to send the Clarets down regardless, owing to their vastly superior goal difference.
How Burnley’s survival hopes took worst possible hit
A run of one defeat in eight had given Burnley real hope of survival less than two months after they sat 11 points adrift of safety in mid-March.
Newcastle’s own upturn in form in the search for Europe threatened to dampen spirits, but Burnley flew out of the blocks and saw Jacob Bruun Larsen denied by a sprawling Martin Dubravka.
Not for the first time this season, the hosts were then caught out by their opponents’ first attack, as Wilson prodded home from close range after Arijanet Muric had denied Isak.
Alexander Isak brought up his 20th Premier League goal of the season with a close-range finish
Burnley continued unabated but had a mountain to climb once Longstaff fired across Muric for a second from Jacob Murphy’s smart lay-off.
Five minutes later it really was game over. An Anthony Gordon-led counter was turned inside for Guimaraes, who sidefooted in at the near post, leaving a helpless Kompany to watch on from the dugout stony-faced.
Whereas Wilson had been booked for diving inside the Burnley box in the first half, Gordon won a clear penalty shortly after the break when he played a one-two from a short corner and was brought down by Josh Brownhill.
Isak pulled rank despite Wilson’s desire to take the spot kick, though was left with egg on his face when his weak effort was easily saved by Muric.
He soon made amends, however, when sidefooting home Murphy’s cross to put the gloss on an already dominant afternoon for the Magpies.
The few home fans remaining inside Turf Moor had something to smile about late on, when O’Shea nodded in from Johann Gudmundsson’s corner, but that was as good as it got.
What could have been a day where Burnley finally lifted themselves above the drop instead ended with them needing a perfect set of results to avoid it.
What’s next?
Burnley’s penultimate game of the season is at Tottenham on Saturday May 11, kick-off 3pm. They then host relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on the final day on Sunday May 19, kick-off 4pm.
Newcastle still have three fixtures to play. They host Brighton on May 11, kick-off 3pm, before heading to Manchester United on Wednesday May 15, live on Sky Sports, for a crucial match in the race to qualify for Europe. Kick-off 8pm. They complete the season at Brentford on May 19, kick-off 4pm.
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